Desert Luck The oddball group of three trudged along the sandy path. The sun was scorching their backs as they each lugged their share of supplies. Michelle, the strongest of the three, was stuck with the two fifty pound bags of coal. She had one on either shoulder and was still ahead of the pack. Just as she was cursing the two weaklings behind her, she felt her foot hit a stone at the perfect angle to give it a good sprain. Michelle screamed out an obscenity mixed with the word “karma” as she and her extra one hundred pounds hit the desert floor. “Oh, shit, Shell is you okay?” Eddie dropped his plastic barrels and rushed over to her. “Gah, I’m fine.” Michelle rubbed her instantly swollen ankle. “Dammit! There’s no way you gonna carry those the whole way to camp!” Rand, the optimist, let his wheelbarrow fall to the ground next to Michelle. “For once Rand, you’re right. There’s no friggen way I’m gonna get those back up on my shoulders.” No one spoke for a few moments. “There ain’t no way me or Eddie’s gonna carry your load. And that ol’ ‘barrow’s wheel’s already shaky. That coal’ll break it before we get a meter!” “Well, Rand, you’re the quickest. Why don’t you take a look over them ridges to the West. Mayhaps there’s some ol wood or somethin’ we can pull home.” “Righty then. Though I doubt there’s much of anythin’ around.” Randy left Michelle and Eddie in the middle of the trail. His holey boots pushed through the deep piles of sand as he stared at the azure sky above him. The heat flushed his face and beads of sweat veined from underneath the arms of his cutoff shirt through the layer of dust on his scarred arms. Randy swigged water from the patched jug that swung from his hip and his breathing increased in rhythm as he climbed to the top of the dunes. The sun glared in his eye as he reached the top. He looked over the land that used to be flushed with green; from the depths of his memory popped images from when he was a young child. Miles of trees and streams replaced the sight of the barren wasteland. Randy sighed. About a kilometer in the distance Randy saw a red tip of a building. At first he thought it was piece of his reminiscence. He blinked and stared again. Nope, it was still there. Well, what the hell, I should go look closer. Randy half-slid half-ran down the dune towards the red building. Eddie plopped himself next to Michelle on the side of the path. They had re-situated themselves in between two dunes just in case someone came up the path. Michelle doubted it because they were basically the only people that were stupid enough to settle that far into the desert. She and the rest of the band preferred the safety that solitude brought. They only found it necessary to interact with other people when necessities ran low and the barter town served as a good buffer for those emergencies. Otherwise, Michelle, Eddie, and the rest of their 25 person group survived just fine. Eddie stretched out on the ground and threw his rag of a vest over his eyes. He muttered from underneath the dirty fabric “Speak up. You know I can’t hear you when you mumble.” “Jeez Shell, I said wake me up if somun come along.” “Alright laz-ass, get your rest. It’s gonna be rough night if Rand don’t find nothin’ to put the coal on.” Pretty soon, Michelle heard Eddie snoring so she settled in against the edge of the dune. She brought out the crossword puzzle book Rand got for her in the town. It had some pencil marks that the vendor missed when he erased the answers off it. Michelle shrugged, got her coal pencil out of her pack and began filling in answers. Sure nuff, that’s a barn leftover from the Green Days. Ho-ly shit I can’t wait to see what somun left in there. Rand had just walked up to the roof he had been shuffling through the sand towards for almost an hour. It was slow work, but he had a feeling something good was waiting for him. The barn loomed over him. The red paint was almost peeled off except for the tip of the roof. The rooster weather vane still swayed in the wind. The locks on the barn door were rusted through and corroded from years of being pelted with sand. Rand used his water jug and they basically dripped off the door; then, he swung the door open and laughed out loud.
Michelle awoke in the twilight. Her hairs prickled on her arms and the air felt wrong.
“Eddie, get up! Somethin’s goin’ on. It ain’t right out here.” Eddie rolled over and sat up. He spit out the sand that had accumulated in his mouth.
“Wus goin’ on Shell? I was dreamin’ of trees.” She growled in response. “Shell?” He rubbed his eyes open and saw Michelle staring silently at the pack of four feral dogs that blocked their entrance to the path. The mongrels’ were baring their teeth and their fur hung off their bodies. One was missing an ear and they all had stomachs that were swollen with starvation. Michelle’s hand moved to her hip where she had her Bowie knife strapped to her belt. Her fingers nimbly undid the leather strapping while the dogs made their way towards the pair. She grasped the handle and shoved the blade into the first dog’s throat. The other three leapt in the air to attack.
The roar of the diesel engine almost muffled the yelps of the dogs. The ATV’s souped-up grille became splattered with ragged fur and sticky blood. The lifeless lumps of the dogs lay nearby as Rand whirled the ATV around.
“Well, ya’ll ready to go home? First though, we gonna drive back and get the other one.” Rand grinned as Michelle and Eddie gaped at his metal prize.
The oddball group of three trudged along the sandy path. The sun was scorching their backs as they each lugged their share of supplies. Michelle, the strongest of the three, was stuck with the two fifty pound bags of coal. She had one on either shoulder and was still ahead of the pack. Just as she was cursing the two weaklings behind her, she felt her foot hit a stone at the perfect angle to give it a good sprain. Michelle screamed out an obscenity mixed with the word “karma” as she and her extra one hundred pounds hit the desert floor.
“Oh, shit, Shell is you okay?” Eddie dropped his plastic barrels and rushed over to her.
“Gah, I’m fine.” Michelle rubbed her instantly swollen ankle.
“Dammit! There’s no way you gonna carry those the whole way to camp!” Rand, the optimist, let his wheelbarrow fall to the ground next to Michelle.
“For once Rand, you’re right. There’s no friggen way I’m gonna get those back up on my shoulders.” No one spoke for a few moments.
“There ain’t no way me or Eddie’s gonna carry your load. And that ol’ ‘barrow’s wheel’s already shaky. That coal’ll break it before we get a meter!”
“Well, Rand, you’re the quickest. Why don’t you take a look over them ridges to the West. Mayhaps there’s some ol wood or somethin’ we can pull home.”
“Righty then. Though I doubt there’s much of anythin’ around.”
Randy left Michelle and Eddie in the middle of the trail. His holey boots pushed through the deep piles of sand as he stared at the azure sky above him. The heat flushed his face and beads of sweat veined from underneath the arms of his cutoff shirt through the layer of dust on his scarred arms. Randy swigged water from the patched jug that swung from his hip and his breathing increased in rhythm as he climbed to the top of the dunes. The sun glared in his eye as he reached the top. He looked over the land that used to be flushed with green; from the depths of his memory popped images from when he was a young child. Miles of trees and streams replaced the sight of the barren wasteland. Randy sighed. About a kilometer in the distance Randy saw a red tip of a building. At first he thought it was piece of his reminiscence. He blinked and stared again. Nope, it was still there. Well, what the hell, I should go look closer. Randy half-slid half-ran down the dune towards the red building.
Eddie plopped himself next to Michelle on the side of the path. They had re-situated themselves in between two dunes just in case someone came up the path. Michelle doubted it because they were basically the only people that were stupid enough to settle that far into the desert. She and the rest of the band preferred the safety that solitude brought. They only found it necessary to interact with other people when necessities ran low and the barter town served as a good buffer for those emergencies. Otherwise, Michelle, Eddie, and the rest of their 25 person group survived just fine. Eddie stretched out on the ground and threw his rag of a vest over his eyes. He muttered from underneath the dirty fabric
“Speak up. You know I can’t hear you when you mumble.”
“Jeez Shell, I said wake me up if somun come along.”
“Alright laz-ass, get your rest. It’s gonna be rough night if Rand don’t find nothin’ to put the coal on.” Pretty soon, Michelle heard Eddie snoring so she settled in against the edge of the dune. She brought out the crossword puzzle book Rand got for her in the town. It had some pencil marks that the vendor missed when he erased the answers off it. Michelle shrugged, got her coal pencil out of her pack and began filling in answers.
Sure nuff, that’s a barn leftover from the Green Days. Ho-ly shit I can’t wait to see what somun left in there. Rand had just walked up to the roof he had been shuffling through the sand towards for almost an hour. It was slow work, but he had a feeling something good was waiting for him. The barn loomed over him. The red paint was almost peeled off except for the tip of the roof. The rooster weather vane still swayed in the wind. The locks on the barn door were rusted through and corroded from years of being pelted with sand. Rand used his water jug and they basically dripped off the door; then, he swung the door open and laughed out loud.
Michelle awoke in the twilight. Her hairs prickled on her arms and the air felt wrong.
“Eddie, get up! Somethin’s goin’ on. It ain’t right out here.” Eddie rolled over and sat up. He spit out the sand that had accumulated in his mouth.
“Wus goin’ on Shell? I was dreamin’ of trees.” She growled in response. “Shell?” He rubbed his eyes open and saw Michelle staring silently at the pack of four feral dogs that blocked their entrance to the path. The mongrels’ were baring their teeth and their fur hung off their bodies. One was missing an ear and they all had stomachs that were swollen with starvation. Michelle’s hand moved to her hip where she had her Bowie knife strapped to her belt. Her fingers nimbly undid the leather strapping while the dogs made their way towards the pair. She grasped the handle and shoved the blade into the first dog’s throat. The other three leapt in the air to attack.
The roar of the diesel engine almost muffled the yelps of the dogs. The ATV’s souped-up grille became splattered with ragged fur and sticky blood. The lifeless lumps of the dogs lay nearby as Rand whirled the ATV around.
“Well, ya’ll ready to go home? First though, we gonna drive back and get the other one.” Rand grinned as Michelle and Eddie gaped at his metal prize.